As the tension in the Middle-East rises, the threat looming over the world is a nuclear bomb may be used. The United States joined the Israel-Iran war citing Iran’s nuclear program. But what exactly would
happen if a nuclear bomb is used in a war? News18 explains how the consequences won’t be limited to the spot or even just the three countries. Scientists warn that such a scenario could lead to environmental and biological disasters for the planet, even causing a worldwide famine.
WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY? HOW DO NUCLEAR WEAPONS WORK?
The basic principle behind a nuclearexplosion is the equivalence of mass and energy, explained by Albert Einstein’s equation E=mc². Here, E stands for energy, m for mass, and c for the speed of light. This means mass and energy are two forms of the same thing.
When the bonds in an atom are broken, a small amount of mass turns into energy, causing a massive explosion.
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There are two processes: fission and fusion. Most modern nuclear weapons are thermonuclear, involving two stages.
Fission: Heavy and unstable atoms like plutonium-239 are split. When brought to a ‘supercritical’ state under high pressure, neutrons hit other atoms, starting an uncontrolled chain reaction. In just nanoseconds, huge amounts of gamma rays and energy are released.
Fusion: The intense heat from the first stage fuses deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) together. This is the same process that powers the sun.
Today’s thermonuclear weaponscan release thousands of times more energy than the ‘Little Boy’ bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A NUCLEAR BOMB EXPLODES?
Right after the blast, several destructive effects occur at once.
1. Fireball and thermal radiation: A fireball with temperatures of millions of degrees Celsius forms instantly and spreads at the speed of light, burning people before they even hear the explosion. The heat from the Nagasaki bomb was so intense that it left permanent human shadows on concrete walls.
2. Supersonic shockwave: Rapidly expanding hot air creates a high-pressure wave that can destroy buildings for kilometers. Studies show most immediate deaths in urban areas are caused by heat and pressure waves.
3. Electromagnetic pulse (EMP): A powerful electromagnetic shock can instantly disable modern electronic infrastructure like power grids, communication networks, and satellites. Then comes nuclear winter. The most terrifying threat isn’t the explosion itself, but the environmental impact afterward.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT?
According to a study published in Nature Food, if major cities in the Middle East burn, about 5 million tons of black carbon smoke could reach the stratosphere. This smoke would settle above the clouds, where rain can’t clear it. As a result, sunlight gets blocked, global temperatures drop suddenly, monsoon and rainfall cycles are disrupted, and crops are destroyed.
Studies indicate that even a limited nuclear war could reduce globalfood production by up to 90 per cent. Billions of people, even those thousands of kilometers away from the conflict, could face famine.
HOW LONG DOES NUCLEAR RADIATION LAST?
The third major threatis ionizing radiation. When a bomb explodes near the ground, soil and debris become contaminated with radioactive isotopes like cesium-137 and strontium-90. These particles can spread across borders with high winds.
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, these isotopes have a ‘half-life’ lasting decades.
HOW IS IT LINKED TO FAMINE AND STARVATION?
They enter the food chain through soil and water and behave like calcium or potassium in the body, causing bone cancer and diseases like leukemia.
Experiences from Hiroshima and Nagasaki proved that radiation can damage DNA and cause genetic changes for generations.
HAS THE RISK INCREASED AFTER THE END OF THE US-RUSSIA NUCLEAR TREATY?
If nuclear arms control treaties like between America and Russia end, the arms race could accelerate. This would increase instability worldwide and raise the chances of nuclear options being used in regional conflicts.
WILL THE WORLD STARVE IF ATOMIC BOMBS ARE USED?
Scientific assessments show that the impact of nuclear war won’t be limited by borders. Millions would die instantly. The global agricultural system would collapse. Radiation would last for decades. Economic and social structures would be destroyed.
In a ‘nuclear winter,’ sunlight would decrease, temperatures would drop, and food production could stop. This would make global famine a reality.
THE NUCLEAR FAMINE AND OTHER EFFECTS
A full-scale nuclear war could cause global starvation, killing over 5 billion people—most of the world’s population—due to nuclear famine. Soot from firestorms would block sunlight, causing catastrophic agricultural collapse for years. While blast and radiation are immediate threats, the primary cause of death would be mass starvation.
Global Famine Risk: Studies indicate that even a smaller-scale war between nations like India and Pakistan could lead to over 2 billion deaths.
Agricultural Collapse: The climatic changes induced by nuclear soot, often termed “nuclear winter,” would severely reduce food production globally.
Direct Impact: In a US-Russia conflict, 99% of people in those nations, as well as in Europe and China, are projected to die.
Mechanism: Firestorms from nuclear detonations create massive soot clouds that block sunlight, causing widespread crop failure.
With Agency, News18 Hindi Inputs
